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“Tea of the afternoon here. I am not having a stellar day. I went to occupational therapy this morning for my hands/wrist which was good, but then my arm and shoulder have been really bothering me...”
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“This one is going in the TTB (take 2) box that will be sent to Jason tomorrow THANKS TO AMAZONV!!!! She told me I could sample it before sending off! Woot! Thanks girl!
It smells like a...”
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“Yes. I approve!
Also, this is really especially good if you take a sip of it right after taking a bite out of a chocolate bar. I suspect this is a secret that applies to ALMOST every tea.
But...”
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“Finishing and decupboarding this one today. It remains my favorite among the Kusmi chocolates, but the Kusmi chocolates remain not my favorite Kusmis as subtlety and chocolate do not go together in...”
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66 Tasting Notes

Tea of the afternoon here. I am not having a stellar day. I went to occupational therapy this morning for my hands/wrist which was good, but then my arm and shoulder have been really bothering me today. I’m so sick of dealing with this chronic pain and my Dr. is taking me off work restrictions next month so I’m going to have to try and find a job when I’m feeling poopy. It seems kind of impossible.

This tea is an old favorite and definitely my favorite tea from Kusmi. The chocolate and spicy notes seem very soothing and delicious right now. I don’t have any chais that I really love at the moment, but this is almost as good. It’s nice to have an old tea “friend” to cheer me up.

That is so cool of you guys to start a new box. I was out of town when the emails came in about sending you tea to add to the “take 2 box”. Do you still need more tea to help fill it? I’m so sad that the original was lost.

Also, this is really especially good if you take a sip of it right after taking a bite out of a chocolate bar. I suspect this is a secret that applies to ALMOST every tea.

But barring (ha) the chocolate bar, this is still very good. Is that an assam back there? I’m not sure, but the base is nice, and the spices are good. And should be identifiable. Nutmeg, and cinnamon maybe? And a little bit of chocolate. To be fair, there’s never enough chocolate so I always say “a little bit”.

I’ve never ordered from Kusmi or checked them out so I went and checked the website. It’s in French. I clicked on language, and selected Canada, expecting to be given a choice but nope. Apparently we speak French here.

Nous parlons francais ici!

Non, c’est non pas vrais. Or something like that. It’s been 10 years you guys.

I noticed that! I clicked on the US but it’s a different site, so I’m curiuos if the shipping is calculated differently depending if you order from the french site or the english one. I may play around with carts to find out.

Finishing and decupboarding this one today. It remains my favorite among the Kusmi chocolates, but the Kusmi chocolates remain not my favorite Kusmis as subtlety and chocolate do not go together in my book. Still, the spice blend is nice on a chilly day and it’s not that the chocolate isn’t there, it’s just a second-seat to the spices and too much of a second seat to be what I’m looking for in a chocolate tea.

This tea smells absolutely divine – rich, creamy chocolate. The resulting tea is smooth and not at all bitter with a fairly strong chocolate taste. I added a bit of milk and sugar which just intensifies the dessert quality of this tea.

Overall, this tea is a nice surprise. I wasn’t sure it was going to be strong enough on the chocolate for me. Although it could stand to be stronger, the chocolate level is adequate and absolutely delicious. I’m not sure if it lives up to the name “Spicy Chocolate” but it is a decent chocolate tea nonetheless.

Preparation

SIPDOWN. Haha. Thanks, VariaTEA, for sharing. I added milk and sugar, and took it out to play in the SNOW. Yes! Snow! This doesn’t really happen much here, so I am EXCITE!

Well. Now I have to get ready for work because my boss hasn’t responded to my email inquiry yet. Better to go in and leave right away than to not go in and get in trouble. Also, I need to check some Science. :)

@Cofftea While all chais are by definition spice teas, not all spice teas are by definition chais. The name “chai” has been thrown around pretty loosely by companies making new mixes, but at its base it must include masala spices in order to really be considered “chai”. I should note here that when we say “chai” here in the West, we’re actually referring to the Indian drink known as “masala chai”—“chai” alone just means tea, not tea with spices. “Masala chai” is the spicy, creamy drink that westerners have come to love over the last few decades. I wouldn’t label Constant Comment a chai just because it has cinnamon, nutmeng, and other spices in it.

Shanti, yeah I’m aware that chai is Hindi for tea. When I say “chai” I’m using the western definition:) Based on the ingredients I would consider Constant Comment a chai- well at least til reading this lol. So what are the requirements for a masala chai?

Um…okay. I’m not sure how else I can really explain this to you. You can call CC a chai, but that doesn’t make it one. Like I said above, the reason why some teas taste like “chai” and others just seem like “spice teas” is because of the specific spices used. Chai requires Indian/South Asian masala spices, whereas “spice tea” doesn’t. I don’t know what you want me to tell you. Chai recipes vary from family from family, the the predominant flavor is almost always cardamom and clove. Cinnamon and star anise are also sometimes used, as is ginger.

I don’t know. Am I making any sense? I just find it kind of offensive that you’ve kind of ignored my post (and I’ve talked about chai with you before) and then are saying that everythings the same because you say it is. It’s just kind of offensive to hear you categorize different cultural foods at your will, as though the world and its cultures are for your taking. It’s like saying “I love pad thai, it’s my favorite Chinese food” and then even after being corrected continuing to call it and all Asian noodle dishes Chinese, regardless of cultural origin. In the case of tea, it’s a bit more complex because, you know, that centuries long history of the West kind of maybe sort of really colonizing and exploiting South Asia for centuries. Just a heads up.

By the way, I feel like I need to add, I am not a traditionalist in any sense. Drink tea and chai however the hell you like it – with or without milk, with or without sugar, with gasp splenda, upside down, whatever. Just don’t go around acting like you’re invested in tea culture and make a huge deal about the rules of steeping and how everyone is wrong all the time, and then turn around an not have an ounce of respect or even just curiosity for the culture behind the import your enjoying—and that applies for all cultural imports, not just tea.

was this one just me? to me this was HORRIBLE! but i will concede that i haven’t been at my best lately =0( i’ve been on a drug for my illness for 13 years and i’m coming off it finally…. my neurotransmitters feel like they’re being dragged across a grater.

this blend and i work not.

Preparation

to my knowledge there is no bi***er part of the human brain than neurotransmitters. so shuffling off one drug and onto another is simply going to be a tad miserable. …… for a year????!!!!! sigh. oh well. it’s not negotiable.

it’s one of those things where it was a good beta pain controller (brain level), but it’s been losing efficacy. if it’s not working then i don’t want it in my system. that said, no one told me what a long road it was going to be to come off.